US-20260126024-A1 - All-Terrain Vehicle

US20260126024A1US 20260126024 A1US20260126024 A1US 20260126024A1US-20260126024-A1

Abstract

An air intake system having a turbocharger and an intercooler provides combustion air for an internal combustion engine of an all-terrain vehicle. The all-terrain vehicle includes a straddle seat, and the he intercooler is mounted above the internal combustion engine. The intercooler has a plurality of pressurized air crosspipes defining an intercooler plane. An intercooler attack angle of the intercooler plane relative to horizontal is greater than or equal to 80° and less than 90°. The air intake system includes an intake pressure relief system with a pressure sensor and a pressure relief valve. When the pressure sensor senses an onset of an overpressure event, the pressure relief valve is opened. The turbocharger housing is integrally formed with the exhaust manifold, and the exhaust manifold has flange gaps between exhaust intake ports, which allow thermal expansion difference between the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold.

Inventors

Chen Yang
Li Guan
Wenbing Duan
Jianchong WANG
Chuanwei Gan
Jian Wang

Assignees

Zhejiang CFMOTO Power Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251230
Priority Date: 20230630

Claims (20)

1 . An all-terrain vehicle comprising: a frame; a body cover at least partially arranged on the frame; four wheels supporting the frame; a prime mover assembly supported on the frame and configured to drive the wheels to rotate for locomotion of the all-terrain vehicle, the prime mover assembly comprising an internal combustion engine; an air intake system providing combustion air for the internal combustion engine, the air intake system comprising: a turbocharger which pressurizes air, the pressurization causing air heating; and an intercooler which cools pressurized air from the turbocharger and provides pressurized, cooled air for combustion, the intercooler having a plurality of pressurized air crosspipes defining an intercooler plane, wherein an intercooler attack angle of the intercooler plane relative to horizontal is greater than or equal to 80° and less than 90°.
2 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the body cover comprises a straddle seat, and wherein the intercooler is mounted above the engine.
3 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the air intake system comprises an intake pressure relief system, the intake pressure relief system comprising a pressure sensor and a pressure relief valve, wherein when the pressure sensor senses an onset of an overpressure event, the pressure relief valve is opened.
4 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the pressure relief valve is located downstream of the intercooler and upstream of a throttle assembly in fluid communication with a throttle duct, with a pressure relief duct connecting the pressure relief valve with a turbocharger air inlet duct.
5 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the throttle duct comprises a first flexible section, a load-bearing curved corner which helps support the pressure sensor and the pressure relief valve, and a second flexible section.
6 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the load-bearing curved corner is formed of hard plastic.
7 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the internal combustion engine has a plurality of cylinders, and further comprising an exhaust system with an exhaust manifold, wherein the turbocharger has a turbocharger housing with a turbine driven by exhaust from the internal combustion engine and a compressor within the turbocharger housing compressing air for combustion, wherein the turbocharger housing is integrally formed with the exhaust manifold.
8 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the exhaust manifold is bolted to a cylinder head, wherein the exhaust manifold comprises a plurality of exhaust intake ports, with flange gaps between the plurality of exhaust intake ports to allow thermal expansion difference between the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold.
9 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the flange gaps have a width greater than or equal to 3 mm and less than or equal to 5 mm.
10 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 1 , wherein pressurized air is input on an input end of the intercooler, the input end having a tapering portion with an outer side wall defining a tapering plane, wherein the pressurized air crosspipes run parallel so as to define an intercooler crossplane perpendicular to a direction of compressed airflow through the pressurized air crosspipes, wherein an intercooler intake taper angle between the tapering plane and the intercooler crossplane is acute.
11 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the intercooler intake taper angle is greater than or equal to 5° and less than or equal to 10°.
12 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the input end further comprises a full width transition portion ending in an input partial endwall.
13 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 12 , wherein ⅕ th to ⅛ th of a total number of pressurized air crosspipes connect with the full width transition portion below the input partial endwall.
14 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the internal combustion engine comprises an engine block with three cylinders, and with a knock sensor mounted on a knock sensor mounting seat on the engine block, the knock sensor mounting seat being located on a middle cylinder of the three cylinders at a mid-height of the engine block.
15 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the internal combustion engine comprises a cylinder head, and further comprising a lubrication system having an oil pump and an oil filter, with a head oil delivery passage defined in the cylinder head, and with an oil flowrate control bolt at least partially controlling oil flowrate through the head oil delivery passage.
16 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the internal combustion engine comprises an engine block with at least two cylinders, and further comprising a cooling system having a water pump, with a cylinder water jacket defined in the engine block, the cylinder water jacket having an intake side path and an exhaust side path, with at least one longitudinal coolant flow channel defined between the intake side path and the exhaust side path of the cylinder water jacket between cylinders.
17 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 16 , wherein the longitudinal coolant flow channel is a groove in a top of the engine block, the groove having a channel width which is greater than or equal to 1 mm and less than or equal to 2 mm, the groove having a channel height which is greater than or equal to 3 mm and less than or equal to 7 mm.
18 . An all-terrain vehicle comprising: a frame; a body cover at least partially arranged on the frame; four wheels supporting the frame; a prime mover assembly supported on the frame and configured to drive the wheels to rotate for locomotion of the all-terrain vehicle, the prime mover assembly comprising an internal combustion engine; and an air intake system providing combustion air for the internal combustion engine, the air intake system comprising: a turbocharger which pressurizes air, the pressurization causing air heating; an intercooler which cools pressurized air from the turbocharger and provides pressurized, cooled air for combustion, the intercooler having a plurality of pressurized air crosspipes; and an intake pressure relief system, the intake pressure relief system comprising a pressure sensor and a pressure relief valve, wherein when the pressure sensor senses an onset of an overpressure event, the pressure relief valve is opened.
19 . The all-terrain vehicle of claim 18 , wherein the pressure relief valve is located downstream of the intercooler and upstream of a throttle assembly in fluid communication with a throttle duct, with a pressure relief duct connecting the pressure relief valve with a turbocharger air inlet duct.
20 . An all-terrain vehicle comprising: a frame; a body cover at least partially arranged on the frame; four wheels supporting the frame; a prime mover assembly supported on the frame and configured to drive the wheels to rotate for locomotion of the all-terrain vehicle, the prime mover assembly comprising an internal combustion engine with a plurality of cylinders and a cylinder head; an air intake system providing combustion air for the internal combustion engine, the air intake system comprising: a turbocharger which pressurizes air, the pressurization causing air heating, the turbocharger having a turbocharger housing with a turbine driven by exhaust from the internal combustion engine and a compressor within the turbocharger housing compressing air for combustion; and an intercooler which cools pressurized air from the turbocharger and provides pressurized, cooled air for combustion, the intercooler having a plurality of pressurized air crosspipes; and an exhaust system with an exhaust manifold, wherein the turbocharger housing is integrally formed with the exhaust manifold, wherein the exhaust manifold is bolted to the cylinder head, wherein the exhaust manifold comprises a plurality of exhaust intake ports, with flange gaps between the plurality of exhaust intake ports to allow thermal expansion difference between the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION This application is a continuation of PCT/CN2024/102709, filed Jun. 28, 2024 and entitled “All-Terrain Vehicle”, and claims the benefit of priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310801973.4, entitled “all-terrain vehicle”, filed with the Chinese Patent Office on Jun. 30, 2025. The entire contents of the above-referenced application are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to the field of vehicles, and particularly to an all-terrain vehicle. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE In existing technology, as an outdoor vehicle, all-terrain vehicles need to adapt to different scenarios and complex operating conditions. Engines of all-terrain vehicles are required to possess a substantially high power capacity and high power output. For an internal combustion engine, high power output means a large intake air volume and a correspondingly large exhaust volume. While improvements have been made, how to make the structure of all-terrain vehicles equipped with high-power engines compact is a problem that still needs further solutions. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an all-terrain vehicle to solve at least one problem existing in the background. In a first aspect, the present invention provides an all-terrain vehicle including a frame, a body cover, at least four wheels, a prime mover assembly, and an air intake system. The body cover is at least partially arranged on the frame. The four wheels support the frame. The prime mover assembly is supported on the frame and configured to drive the wheels to rotate for locomotion of the all-terrain vehicle. The prime mover assembly has an internal combustion engine. The air intake system provides combustion air for the internal combustion engine. The air intake system has a turborcharger and an intercooler. The turbocharge pressurizes air which causes air heating. The intercooler which cools pressurized air from the turbocharger and provides pressurized, cooled air for combustion. The intercooler has a plurality of pressurized air crosspipes defining an intercooler plane. An intercooler attack angle of the intercooler plane relative to horizontal is greater than or equal to 80° and less than 90°. In another aspect, the body cover includes a straddle seat. The intercooler is mounted above the internal combustion engine. In a third aspect, the air intake system includes an intake pressure relief system. The intake pressure relief system has a pressure sensor and a pressure relief valve. When the pressure sensor senses an onset of an overpressure event, the pressure relief valve is opened. In a fourth aspect, the turbocharger has a turbocharger housing with a turbine and a compressor therein. The turbine is driven by exhaust from the internal combustion engine. The compressor is driven by the turbine to compress air for combustion. The engine includes a plurality of cylinders and a cylinder head. The all-terrain vehicle includes an exhaust system with an exhaust manifold. The turbocharger housing is integrally formed with the exhaust manifold, which is bolted to the cylinder head. The exhaust manifold has flange gaps between exhaust intake ports. The flange gaps allow thermal expansion difference between the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold. Compared with related vehicles, the all-terrain vehicles of the present invention have increased engine power with a more compact structure through improvements in engine, air intake and exhaust layout and function. The details of one or more embodiments of the present application are presented in the following figures and description to make other features, objectives, and advantages of the present application more concise and understandable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front left perspective view of an all-terrain vehicle (“ATV”) of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front left perspective view of a prime mover assembly of the present invention for use in the ATV of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a front left exploded view of the engine in the prime mover assembly of FIG. 2 and ATV of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a front right perspective view of the engine of FIGS. 2 and 3, and also showing the turbocharger, throttle assembly and intake manifold of the air intake system; FIG. 5 is a front left perspective view of the engine block of the engine of FIGS. 2-4; FIG. 6 is a logic diagram of the knock sensor logic used for the engine block of FIGS. 2-5; FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the engine block of FIG. 5; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the engine block of FIGS. 5 and 7, taken along cut line 8-8 of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the cylinder head of FIGS. 3 and 4, also showing the oil delivery passage through the engine block of FIGS. 3 and 4; FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of section 10 of FIG. 9; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the oil flowrate control bolt of FIGS. 9 and 10; FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an intake r